When does 1 + 1 not equal 2? The relative advantage of public school-based pre-k versus Head Start for low-income children’s kindergarten cognitive and self-regulatory skills.

Abstract

Decades of research suggest that both Head Start and public pre-kindergarten (pre-k) programs boost low-income preschoolers’ kindergarten skills. What is not yet well understood is whether there are relative advantages of transitioning from Head Start after 1 year into a school-based public pre-k program for the year immediately before kindergarten for children’s developing cognitive and self-regulation skills. This is an important question, because in many communities Head Start and school-based pre-k programs provide competing early education options for low-income 4-year-olds, leaving policymakers, educators, and parents wondering which pathway best promotes the mix of skills predictive of success in elementary school. Only one study—conducted prior to significant recent demographic and policy changes affecting early education and focused exclusively on cognitive outcomes—has addressed this question. We extend that work with contemporary data on 362 low-income children to assess the relative advantages for both kindergarten cognitive and self-regulatory skills of 2 years of Head Start before kindergarten versus transitioning from Head Start to school-based pre-k at age 4. The child sample was evenly split by gender and diverse in race/ethnicity (50% Hispanic/Latinx; 36% Black; 7% White). Results showed that children who transitioned after 1 year of Head Start to school-based pre-k at age 4 showed marginally higher kindergarten literacy (d = .13) and significantly greater math (d = .18) skills than children who remained in Head Start for a second year, but there were no significant differences in kindergarten self-regulatory skills. Implications for contemporary, pressing policy issues are discussed.

A deeper dive, a wider pool: Preschool benefits sustain to first grade on a broader set of outcomes

“…Recent consensus statements from experts have concluded that public preschool attendance has an immediate positive effect on children's early language, literacy, and math skills—effects detected most often at the end of the preschool year or at the start of kindergarten (Phillips et al, 2017; Yoshikawa et al, 2013). These statements are based on studies of scaled‐up contemporary public preschool programs in Boston, Tulsa, Tennessee, New Mexico, Georgia, and North Carolina (e.g., Gormley et al, 2008; Henry et al, 2006; Hustedt et al, 2021; Jenkins et al, 2016; Johnson et al, 2022; Lipsey et al, 2018; Peisner‐Feinberg & Schaaf, 2011; Weiland & Yoshikawa, 2013), as well as several multi‐state pre‐k studies (Barnett et al, 2018; Wong et al, 2008) and the national Head Start Impact Study (HSIS; Puma et al, 2012).…”